Speed of development – in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the desire to please one’s customers as quickly as possible is never far away;

Quality – maintaining a reputation for quality is critical to maintaining a customer base;

Results/Functionality Delivered – reflect promises made;

Cost of Delivery – always a temptation to cut corners here, usually in favor of cutting time

As we also discussed, keeping these various dimensions in balance is important to long-term success.

The Three Foundational Blocks

Fortunately, consistent, long-term application lifecycle success is achievable by building developer performance on three foundational blocks that together optimize development and increase productivity:

1. Robust Processes Based on Industry Best Practices – Above all, clarity in communication at every stage

Use an Agile-based methodology with well-defined templates, coding standards and project delivery guidelines.

Remember that development and QA go hand-in-hand through the development lifecycle

Conduct continuous software evaluation in collaboration with the customer

Also remember strong service management processes to support all development activities

2. Effective Project Management & Leadership – Decide your destination in order to select and navigate the best route:

Create and adhere to your delivery roadmap, even as you focus on reducing re-starts and re-work

Measure the accuracy of your effort estimation (for future projects) as you measure the team’s throughput

Always emphasize team collaboration for more effective and efficient development

Code Analysis tools to ensure secure, reliable and compliant software

By taking such an approach to software that adopts a holistic view, the likelihood of accruing technical debt can be minimized, and even avoided altogether. Remember, proactively managing technical debt is a critical aspect of efficient delivery. Mastering it will contribute to lasting success.